the battle for top spot at the electric cars centre higgs up as tester is replaced for the first time. will taking drugs in tiny doses make you more efficient at work? we take a look at some of the worries around this trend in the united states. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. we begin with byd, the chinese ev maker which has officially overtaken the american giant tesla in total fourth—quarter sales. tesla's record deliveries, up more than 480,000 vehicles in the last three months, of the year was not enough to cement its position in the top spot. the company's deliveries

are the closest estimation to its sales figures. 0ur north american business correspondent reports. byd calls itself the biggest car brand you have never heard of. but that may be about to change. the chinese automaker sold more battery—powered electric vehicles in the last three months of the year than tesla did. that is a first. the american company is facing headwinds. higher borrowing costs in the us led to slowing demand but its lesser—known chinese rival is enjoying tail winds, including a massive domestic market, cheap labour, and strong government support. and unlike tesla, byd makes its own batteries. so controlling that part of the supply chain gives byd more flexibility to cut prices, which it did in the last part of the year, sending sales spiking. as my colleague has just reported, tesla's latest number puts byd ahead of the curve. the chinese ev maker reported around 3 million in sales last year but that number comprises both electric cars

and hybrid vehicles. even as the competition is revving up, it is worth noting in terms of overall deliveries in 2023, tesla still has byd beat. however, the chinese ev maker could keep momentum, especially with government incentives like tax breaks. that is according to ray wang from constellation research consultancy, who i spoke to earlier. it is actually amazing to see ev demand is still that strong and i think it is wonderful for byd hitting 529,409 vehicles in 04. that puts them on target at about 1.6 million for the year. that is an important figure because they are accelerating their units and their growth but it's also not to say tesla did do poorly because tesla actually hit 1.8 million for the year. on a yearly basis, tesla came out ahead but the byd showing a lot of momentum and growth, especially coming out of 2023. so, going into this new year, how do you see it moving forward? how much profit does byd actually make from sales,

especially since both tesla and byd have slashed prices to boost sales throughout last year? this is the important thing. forget the other ev makers — byd and tesla have ignited a price war around the world. byd has the batteries and low cost in terms of wages, at about $20,000-$25,000 per worker every year, and tesla has the scale and capabilities and its charging network and automation to get to be able to compete. it is going to be interesting. tesla has bigger margins to date but that is something that is going to be in contention for all of 202a. less tax breaks in the us, tesla will start to stop qualifying for them as we go into the new year but you will see other incentives coming into play and also protectionist barriers going to happen in europe and asia — ah, europe and in the us, regarding byd cars entering those markets.

going to be an interesting battle to watch. ev industry for this year given the global push to become greener. we will see growth in evs but there is pushback. not all countries have the infrastructure. china has the 100—megawatts small modular nuclear reactors. a lot of coal—fired plants — the rest of the world does not have the electrification infrastructure. a slight blip into 2024 but there is still good demand. to learn more about the competition between tesla and byd you can visit our website. or use the bbc news app. staying briefly on news about electric cars and another american ev maker that hit a bump on the road is rivian which reported close to 1a,000 in deliveries for the quarter ending december. but that is much lower than wall street expectations, sending shares down by more than 10%. in other news making headlines this morning, maersk has suspended all shipping through the red sea and gulf of eden until further notice following an attack on one of its vessels from militants over the weekend.

the danish logistics giant says it will reroute some vessels around the cape of good hope in africa. houthi militants based in yemen and backed by a run in recent houthi militants based in yemen and backed by iran have in recent weeks repeatedly attacked vessels in the red sea in response to the war in gaza. it has raised concerns about the disruptions to global trade through the waterway. by some estimates, about 12% of global trade and 3 million barrels of crude oil traverse the red sea every day. to india now where a nationwide strike by truck and bus drivers across the country over a new law on hit—and—run cases appears to have been called off following negotiations between the government and transport associations last night. our reporterjoins us now from reporter joins us now from mumbai. reporterjoins us now from mumbai. ellis way they are protesting this law that appears designed to save lives?

essentially, they have been protesting the law because they feel it is too stringent, that it would take them out of business and that the penalties imposed under this new law are quite high. to give you a sense, the new amendments mandate a ten year imprisonment or nearly $10,000 in penalties in a hit—and—run incident as opposed to only about two years in the previous law. that is why we saw these agitations across the country, from the west to the east, even here in the financial capital, mumbai, about 70% of the truckers and drivers were off the road. we also heard reports of stone pelting, instances of violence and long periods and panic buying a petrol station. i saw that near my house as well yesterday, because essentially for the last two days these petrol stations had run out of fuel, they had run dry. but it looks like the strike has now been called off. the government

said the new laws would not be implemented without further consultation with the stakeholders. thank you very much for that, speaking to us from mumbai. before we go, what if having a very small dose of drugs could make a big difference to your productivity? it is a rising trend in the united states with encouragement from some big names and that is causing increasing concerns. 0ur correspondent has this report. in the 60s, psychedelic drugs such as lsd or magic mushrooms were associated with long, mindbending trips. hallucinations and hippies. exploration, transformation. today in america some are taking such drugs in tiny doses in an attempt to improve focus, productivity and creativity. this is called microdosing.

i would sometimes take a few days in a row and kind of not do it a few days in a row. curiosity, wonder. donald, whose name i changed, micro doses on a regular basis. as it helps them work. it helps me get into this calm state of flow. if you could do five hours worth of work in one hour, that is huge. not only are you doing that work but you are more curious, more engaged. sometimes it may be a problem i want to solve or something i want to learn about and this gives me a way to think outside the box a little bit. hallucinogenic drug use has increased among those aged 26 and older with over 5.5 million people using psychedelics in 2019. as attitudes change and more people microdose in the workplace, some employers are embracing it as well.

you're taking a stand that it is polarising at times. shame he is the founder and ceo of copy alternative mudwater. not only does he support employees who want to micro dose at work, mind want to donate a portion of its properties to psychedelic research and education. somebody chooses microdosing as something that is helpful for them, they are free to do that because we don't have a policy that encourages or supports the use of psychedelics but we don't have a policy that polices it either. for my personal experience is anything i went through an experience i have had these substances, it was a personal choice to be an advocate. there is not enough evidence yet to say if microdosing is beneficial in the workplace or even say. and drugs being used are illegal at federal level. indulging. microdosing in the workplace sounds like you think they to play? 100%. most clients in this day

and age are not concerned around the legal pieces, although we do respect the laws, it is a change from five plus years ago. a lot of advancement around the research and we see regulation change at different levels, local, state and national, over time. there are risks. the unsupervised use of recreational drugs could be psychologically damaging to those with certain mental conditions. but with renewed interest in psychedelics, advocates hope it will help gain mainstream acceptance. michelle fleury, new york. before we go let's take a look at the trading day in asia. the hang seng is down below 1% following on the lead from global markets. 0n on wall street �*s global markets mostly down led by sell—off in the tech heavy nasdaq. that is it for us on this edition of asia business report. thanks for watching.

bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. we are currently inside the... we have been here for a couple of years now and in an effort to have a bit of attraction i have agreed to box 25 rounds against 25 members. i have had to say to everyone, have had to say to everyone, have you ever hit someone before? make it a good laugh, make it very entertaining. we offer boxing training classes but with our kids we incorporate a lot of social training and a lot of education as well. so large proportion of kids a train with us are autistic or adhd. we incorporate a lot of the talent into the session. i incorporate a lot of the talent into the session.— into the session. i have been weiaht into the session. i have been weight training _ into the session. i have been weight training for _ into the session. i have been weight training for years. - into the session. i have been weight training for years. so | weight training for years. so aood weight training for years. so good for you. i was absolutely terrified — good for you. i was absolutely terrified when i came but they

makes — terrified when i came but they makes this so much at ease when you turn_ makes this so much at ease when you turn up — makes this so much at ease when you turn up. they are all a good — you turn up. they are all a good bunch. all friendly and it is incredible. i good bunch. all friendly and it is incredible.— is incredible. i think i originally _ is incredible. i think i originally went - is incredible. ithink i i originally went because is incredible. ithink i - originally went because i wanted _ originally went because i wanted to— originally went because i wanted to lose _ originally went because i wanted to lose weight. l originally went because i- wanted to lose weight. being someone _ wanted to lose weight. being someone who— wanted to lose weight. being someone who gets _ wanted to lose weight. being someone who gets that - wanted to lose weight. being. someone who gets that tunnel vision — someone who gets that tunnel vision i — someone who gets that tunnel vision hust— someone who gets that tunnel vision ijust found _ someone who gets that tunnel vision ijust found something i| vision ijust found something i was able — vision ijust found something i was able to— vision ijust found something i was able to obsess _ vision ijust found something i was able to obsess over. - vision ijust found something i was able to obsess over. it. vision ijust found something i| was able to obsess over. it did not rely— was able to obsess over. it did not rely on _ was able to obsess over. it did not rely on your— was able to obsess over. it did not rely on your ability- was able to obsess over. it did not rely on your ability to - not rely on your ability to communicate _ not rely on your ability to communicate with - not rely on your ability to communicate with otherl not rely on your ability to - communicate with other people, rely on _ communicate with other people, reiy on your— communicate with other people, rely on your ability— communicate with other people, rely on your ability to _ communicate with other people, rely on your ability to make - rely on your ability to make contact _ rely on your ability to make contact or— rely on your ability to make contact or anything - rely on your ability to make contact or anything like - rely on your ability to make i contact or anything like that. for more _ contact or anything like that. for more stories _ contact or anything like that. for more stories from - contact or anything like that. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc website. hey, i am zoff with the catch up. tonight, a plane crash injapan, hip—hop in prison and cheeky cats in cambridge. first, we start injapan where five people have died on the coastguard plane after it collided with a passenger plane coming into land in tokyo's haneda airport. a fire then started

on the passenger plane but the 379 people on it were luckily safely evacuated. you can see the dramatic scenes of that here as passengers fled the plane on inflatable slides. the coastguard plane involved in the crash was on its way to deliver aid to areas affected by a massive earthquake on monday which caused homes to collapse and triggered a tsunami. the known number of deaths from it is now believed to be at least 48 and around 1000 rescuers are searching for people who they think may be trapped under the rubble. next, this is cool. a prison in scotland is putting hip—hop workshops on for inmates. they are doing this as part of a unique rehabilitation programme which aims to provide inmates with a creative outlet and the opportunity to develop new skills. bernie has taken part. it's helping me get back to my normal self and better. i'm trying to be a better version than i have ever been. definitely been a positive experience for me. let's finish with ten seconds of two cats being cheeky

and adorable as they have made a cambridge garden centre their second home. fatty has been visiting it for 15 years, yes, that is the cat's name and now her brother george visits too. they really are making themselves at home, aren't they? i love it. you're all caught up now. see you later.

hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm paul scott at the bbc sports centre — here's what's coming up. a big moment for luke littler — the 16—year—old becomes the youngest ever person to reach the pdc darts world championship final. a depleted west ham secure a 4th straight clean sheet as they're frustrated by brighton in a goalless draw at the london stadium. on a different track — the retired racehorses learning fresh skills before finding new homes. history has been made at the pdc darts world

championship at alexandra palace.